My cousin recently graduated with her biology degree, and as my family is prone to do, we threw a party. A mix of friends and lots of family made for an awesome day to celebrate her hard earned achievement!

We're blessed to have such a lovely space as my mom's backyard to hold these functions. There's a table on the lawn, sofas for sitting, and even a cot for napping (should the need strike!).

When making food for a crowd, plan ahead and come up with a menu that can be partially made the night before, or easily put together the next morning. We chose potatoes and bacon we could pop in the oven, along with ham and egg cups that could be easily prepared and baked too. No matter the menu, I think oatmeal is such a brilliant brunch choice. You can make a large batch in a slow cooker, giving you a food item you really don't have to think about! Plus, it's perfect for any of your vegetarian or gluten free guests. Put out bowls of brown sugar, slivered almonds, fresh fruit, and butter pats for a whole oatmeal bar.

A new innovation to our bar repertoire was the addition of a margarita snow cone station! It was a fun addition to the standard champagne and beer options, and perfect for summer weather ahead.

Using a cleaned and de-labeled champagne bottle makes the perfect dispenser (this nice frosted one is from a Freixenet Carta Nevada Brut bottle). You can buy liquor pour spouts at kitchen or restaurant supply stores, as well as online, and I definitely recommend using (so much easier to control how much you're getting!). You can buy snow cone makers at stores like Target or Walmart during the summer months, but can also be found online. Go for one that grinds regular old ice cubes, instead of using a special mold. It takes much longer to freeze a whole ring of ice as opposed to picking up a bag at the grocery store! Our "margarita juice" blend is 2 cups mixer, 1 cup tequila, and a 1/2 cup Triple Sec (this makes just a touch more than will fit in the bottle, so you have some backup!). Our bar also included Torani syrups in coconut, mango, and lime, as well as fresh limes to squeeze on top! Keep some salt on hand, and you're good to go!

One of my favorite things about serving snow cones is the fact that we have the paper cones and those awesome straw with spoon scoops at the end! You can buy them at restaurant stores, but be warned, they come in colossal amounts... but I guess that just means you'll be having snow cones all summer (and maybe next summer too. And the one after that).

Admittedly, after we had all had a few snow cones, we skipped right ahead to the tequila shots...

Good times, good times. It had probably been since my great-grandmother's passing, about 10 years ago, that this particular group of people had all been together (along with the additions of boyfriends and pals), so we sat down in the evening and shared another meal together, with gifts and laughter and memories, and a big box of popsicles.

In closing, I'll say again that it's the memories you make in the presence of the ones you love most which are the most important of all. No matter where you gather or what you eat, I believe it is one of the best, most fulfilling things you can do for yourself and others.Gather and be joyful!xo, Rachel

May is National Get Caught Reading Month! As an avid lover of books and all things literate (thank your Mrs. Ball, my 1st grade teacher), there's a part of me that couldn't help but be totally gleeful at the thought of this holiday. To celebrate, I'm sharing a short list of some of my favorites in a few different categories!

The Classics

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerlad While The Great Gatsby may be my all time favorite book, This Side of Paradise runs a close second. As Fitzgerald's debut novel, it helped cement his place in literary history, with good reason.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad I read this book as a senior in high school and flat out hated it. I read it as a sophomore in college and loved it. This is just one example of the right thing at the right time, and I've found that my high school education introduced me to books much faster than I was ready to appreciate them. Just because you can understand literal meaning shows very little indication in what you will understand emotionally. Take some time to give things a second shot!

Farenheit 451A book about how important books are? I'm on board with that.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison This is one book I read in high school that I managed to appreciate. The depth of Ellison's writing as well as his references to so many other literary sources makes this such an emotional, complex, rewarding read.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott I read this book for the first time in the second grade and have sustained a great love for it over the years. It's a tender tale about the strength of women and the complexities of our lives.

Fiction

Rant by Chuck Palahnuik It was really difficult to choose just one Palahnuik, considering that the man is genius. What I really love about Rant is the layers upon layers of secret societies, bureaucracies, and conspiracies that pile up. And the way I have no idea how you could ever make this into a movie.

The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall This book is an insane tale of adventure, theory, loss, literature, memory, and a one scary conceptual shark. A truly unique and intriguing read.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran FoerThe first time I read this book I had borrowed it from the library, and I had become so obsessed with the tale of the missing sixth burrow of New York that the main character's father tells him, I actually photocopied the section before returning the book. I just couldn't stand to be without it. No worries, I have my own real copy now, so all of my neurosis can sleep in peace.

The Goldfinch by Donna TarttThis was actually my first foray into the dark workings of Tartt's mind, and I'll tell you what, I like it there. I love the way she combines art into her work; I recently read The Secret History and I'm excited to try The Little Friend next.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides This book. I really don't have all the right words to describe how much I love this book. Anyone who tries to tell me it's boring or nothing happens can just get stared at blankly. It's also one of those rare cases where I love the movie, too. Middlesex and The Marriage Plot are also phenomenal reads.

Non-Fiction

The Art of Art History; A Critical Anthology by Donald Preziosi This, no joke, was a textbook from college which I didn't return because I enjoyed it so much. Yes, I am one of those people. It's a series of essays on different topics in art with a range of authors, including some of the most important like Winckelmann, Hegel, and Foucault. Great for art lovers that interested in going more in depth!

Public Enemies by Bryan Burough This book is dense like a textbook, but I flew through it because it's so well written. Burough brings to life a large cast of characters including Baby Faced Nelson, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Bonnie and Clyde, and how their outlaw escapades helped build the FBI.

The Defining Decade; Why Your Twenties Matter- And How to Make the Most of Them by Meg Jay, PhD I'm not big on self help books, but this was given to me as a college graduation present, and it ended up being a really important read for me. It helped affirm some of the goals I had been toeing around, and what common traps I needed to be watching for.

The Judgment of Paris; The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism by Ross King If you're interested in French Impressionism, this is a must read. The stories centers mostly around the Salon, Monet, Manet, and Ernest Messionier... don't know who that last one is? Neither did I, and I have my B.A. in Art History. Chances are, if you've been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, you've walked past his work (and they're huge). How his legacy was erased is one of the most interesting portions of this book.

Chasing Aphrodite; The Hunt for Looted Antiquities at the World's Richest Museum by Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino This is also an art book (sensing a theme in my interests?), and it talks about a very serious subject that is close to my heart. With a specialization in Greek and Roman antiquities and having worked in an auction house that was dedicated to providing artifacts that were not looted (with provenance to show this), I am very pro-returning artifacts to the country of origin (I'm looking at you, British Museum). This book focuses solely on the Getty, and provides an outstanding amount of first-hand information.

Young Adult

Because you're never too old to be reading Young Adult fiction. Unless it's about vampires. Or werewolves.

Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce I was super obsessed with this book in high school, particularly due to the abundance of kick-ass female characters. Oh, and a shape-shifting crow that turns into a really cute boy, one of those fictional loves that literally ruined every guy I went to high school with (Umm, you're not Nawat. Bye.). Sequel: Trickster's Queen.

Looking for Alaska by John GreenAnother one of those authors that I had a hard time picking just one title. I have so much love and respect for this dude who is providing really meaningful books for a genre that is plagued by nonsensical fluff (not that I have a thing against fluff, but there's only so much degradation of young minds I can take).

Delirium by Lauren OliverAnd here's why I can't be against all fluff, because I love this book. I read it in college and sobbed like a big, giant, lovesick baby at the end. I think the premise is really interesting; it's a dystopian future age where love (aka amor deliria nervosa) is treated as a disease and immunized against... but then Lena falls in love. Cue tragedy. Where are my kleenex. Apparently there are sequels/companions but I have yet to read them.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff This book make a huge impact on me as a young person, mostly because of the very strange, stream of consciousness way it is written. It really opened my eyes to the way authors can bend rules to create a certain voice and mood for their work. I have yet to watch the movie, even though it's on Netflix, since I have very little faith in anyone's ability to capture the devastated yet deadpan voice of the narrator.

Violet Eyes by Nicole Luiken I'm not even certain that this book, or its sequel Silver Eyes, are still in production (though I noticed you can buy it for Kindle!). This book was my obsession in the fifth grade, but don't let my age fool you, I kept reading it as I got older and picked up different things. Centered on two teenagers with violet eyes who are beginning to find out how different they are, and how their whole life is a set up. It sounds silly, but this book is dark. Like one scene involving a filing cabinet... let's just say I had a hard time opening filing cabinets for awhile.

Hope you get caught reading sometime soon!With my nose in a book, Rachel

I love holidays. I'm fairly unabashed in my exuberance, and quite happy to be almost childlike in my non-jaded-ness of basically all celebrations (except Halloween, I'm kinda over that one). I think some of this comes from the fact that I really just love gift giving. I love shopping, I love creating, I love wrapping...the whole thing is right up my alley. So for Mothers' Day, of course I was all over it. I mean, my mom did give me life, and she's been pretty rad along the way; plus, she likes awesome stuff and is really easy to shop for. So easy in fact, I actually started months ago collecting all sorts of fun tags, tapes, pens, paper straws, plastic bows, etc. I really loved all the goodies I had collected, but I wasn't really looking forward to wrapping up everything individually (yikes), nor did I relish the idea of dumping them all in a bag (seemed a little lackluster for the co-captain of Team Raise Rachel). The solution came from an unlikely source: The Dollar Tree. Yes, you're reading that right, I went to the dollar store and decided to wrap my lovely mother's gift in a 99 cent tupperware container.

I didn't leave it in it's original form though, instead transforming it into a container of goodies inspired by bento boxes!

By far the most difficult part of this whole project is actually obtaining the tupperware. Why? Because The Dollar Tree has some dark magic voodoo that puts you into a buying frenzy fugue state as soon as you step through the door (IT'S ONLY A DOLLAR!!!). Many a time I have wandered into its dark clutches for one thing and emerged into the sunlight about twenty-five dollars poorer and not really certain what had taken place over the past 20 minutes. To help you avoid this pitfall, here's a handy guide of what to try to avoid while inside the belly of the whale:

1. First thing you're gonna see is holiday stuff. Right now, it's all 4th of July, my favorite holiday. Whelp. I had about 6 glitterly/metallic/fringed items in my hand before I even realized what I was doing. At this point, you need to embrace your holiday spirit but limit yourself to ONE ITEM ONLY. Trust me, seven firework taple top decorations are going to look a lot tackier in your home than you think.2. By no means should you go into the party aisle. If you end up there by accident, and retreat is impossible, stay strong in your belief that you are a grown woman who doesn't need Lisa Frank stickers and notepads or a princess button. It's hard to grow up, but I have faith in you.3. Do not buy the wrapping paper, it is thin and it will rip each and every time you try and wrap something. Do not buy the candles, they never burn properly. Do not buy the socks, they will not fit right and will be unrecognizable after the first wash. I know all this for a fact from very sad real world experiences (I really liked those socks. And that donut candle).4. Do not buy any food you wouldn't normally buy at the grocery store (I'm looking at you, one dollar knock off Oreos). Always check the expiration dates.

Once you've emerged from the lions' den, it's time to embark on the far easier portion of this project. First step is to spray paint the bottom of your tupperware. I chose gold because gold is awesome, and that's also the only spray paint I own. Since spray paint can be a bit finicky with plastic, I recommend trying a small spray first to get a sense of how it covers. While that's drying, you can start on the lid.

Pick a container with a flat lid to make it easy to decorate. I used my fingernail to trace the size of my lid, and then cut it out and glued it on. The glue is really just to temporarily hold it in place while you cover the remainder of plastic lid with washi tape. Place long strips of washi tape along each side, leaving about an inch at each rounded corner. Use smaller pieces to cover the round parts, since it's much easier to handle. Repeat on the outer edge so the entire lip is covered, like this:

Next, it's time to make the dividers for the inside of the box. I found it best to get an idea of where your largest items need to be first, and then work in the smaller objects.

Measure for the length and the depth of the container. Double the depth and add an inch, so when folded it will make strong divider with little stabilizer feet. Use cardstock since it will be firm enough to hold everything in place.

My container was 2.5 inches deep with about an 8 inch length, so I cut an 8 x 6 piece of cardstock and folded it lengthwise. Then I folded a half inch up on each side for the stabilizer feet. As you continue to sub-divide, tape the dividers together so they stand up.

Arrange all of your cute gifts in there and boom! You have one really fun looking gift! This is great for giving crafty things, since your wrapping becomes a nice storage container.

All that's left to do is put a bow on it and add a nice note! You could wrap it up traditionally or stick on one of those fun already made curly-q bows (or this one, upcycled from vintage story books!); I chose this amazing Scout + Whistle "You are the Bee's Knees" prize ribbon and an Oh! Hello Friend card

Hola! Como estas?! I hope very well, since it is a holiday and all! While it may not be one you're getting off of work (bummer), I am all about celebrating whenever you get the chance. I'll be eating tacos and drinking margaritas with my family tonight, but today I'm talking about 2 easy, everyday "recipes" that I enjoy all the time: Cafe de Olla and chips with hot sauce! These are both things that I ate during my vacation to Puerto Vallarta and started making at home afterwards because they were simple, yummy, and made me think of my hotel room on the beach (and all the great food we ate).

Cafe de Olla

Cafe de Olla, or "coffee from the pot", is named for the traditional clay vessels that the beverage was originally made in. The coffee grounds are boiled with cinnamon and piloncillo, which makes it a great beverage to have while in Mexico, but also easy to make at home. Piloncillo is the rawest form of sugar cane; it comes in a little cone shape and can be found in Mexican food stores in the baking aisle. You can also use brown sugar, but piloncillo has a richer, earthier flavor that gives Cafe de Olla its trademark warmth and deliciousness.

To make 2 servings you will need:

2 cups of water in a pot

1 tablespoon dark roast coffee grounds

2 tablespoons grated or finely chopped piloncillo

1/2 stick of cinnamon

Heat your water; once it is at a rolling boil, lower to a simmer and add coffee, piloncillo, and cinnamon. Let simmer, uncovered, for five minutes and then turn off the heat. Give it a few stirs and then cover the pot and allow it to sit for another five minutes. Pour through a cheesecloth or fine strainer to serve.

This recipe is easy to size up and make for a large group, so it's a great option to serve at brunch! I love to have this with scrambled eggs and chorizo (but what I'd really love to have it with is bread pudding).

Chips & Hot Sauce

In Mexico, it's expected that you'll find potato or corn chips sold with a packet of hot sauce in the convenience stores. While in Puerto Vallarta, I got in quite a habit of consuming a bag with a cold beer during our siesta back at the hotel. Now, it's my go-to after work snack; it's easy to throw together while I'm preparing my real meal (though I'll admit I've just eaten chips and hot sauce for dinner on an embarrassing amount of occasions. I won't attempt to quantify.)

At it's most basic, it's simply chips, citrus, and hot sauce, but there is a lot of room to get fancy and personalize your favorite combination. I like enough lime juice to make the chips soggy (is that weird?), Cholula hot sauce, and a sprinkling of garlic salt over corn chips. My mom prefers baked potato chips instead; if I'm out of limes I'll use lemons, and I have some Tapatio hot sauce on hand as well.

It may be basic, but there's a reason why it's so popular (hint: because it's great).

Is anyone else celebrating this evening with some festive food and drinks? What are you making?Cheers, Rachel

For May Day, a holiday heralding in the fullness of spring, Creme Yvette has to be the most perfect liqueur since it is made from a distillation of berries, cassis, orange peel, vanilla, and most importantly, the petals of parma violets. Creme Yvette was first produced in Connecticut around 1890, and became very popular throughout the world. However, the popularity of cocktails dwindled during prohibition and subsequently many once popular drinks that used Creme Yvette, like The Aviation, fell out of fashion (and the recipe lost for a time). Several brands ultimately went defunct for reasons like this, with Creme Yvette among them in 1969. However, in late 2009 the brand was purchased by the owner of St. Germaine and was reproduced using new vendors (since the original providers had long since gone out of business as well). The outcome was a delightful liqueur, welcomed warmly back into the cocktail community, despite its more reddish hue (hence why your Blue Moon doesn't seem very blue!). After reading this history, I just had to try it. At forty dollars a bottle, it's not an everyday kind of beverage, but I would definitely say its worth the investment. Its similar enough that you could use it in place of Chambord in a sparkling wine, but Creme Yvette's flavor profile is much richer and more complex (not to mention, almost double the proof).

Here are two ways to enjoy Creme Yvette!

How to Make a Blue Moon

1 1/2 ounces Dry Gin (I only had Hendrick's, so I used that)

3/4 ounce Creme Yvette

1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice

Glass: cocktail or coupe

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain.

This Blue Moon recipe is a variation of the version that was printed on the Creme Yvette bottle in the 1940s. Imagine how pretty it was when it was a little bit blue! But whatever the color, it tastes delightful!

How to Make a Bitter Bike

This petite drink is a perfect digestif, a little something to serve after dinner or dessert. Something like port or brandy is more traditional, but no one can deny that a Bitter Bike is a fine way to end an evening.

1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) St. Germaine

1/4 ounce (1/2 tablespoon) Creme Yvette

1/4 ounce (1/2 tablespoon) Angostura Bitters

For this cocktail, you will need a bent spoon so you can layer the alcohols. If you don't want to bend one of your good spoons, head to the local thrift shop and find a nice pliable one. A bent spoon is handy to have around for other drinks as well, like a black and tan! Add the St. Germaine first, then add the layer of Creme Yvette by pouring it onto the spoon, which should be held just over the St. Germaine. The idea is that the liquid is gently added, so that it doesn't plop in and start mixing. Add the bitters the same way.

The elderflower sweetness of the St. Germaine is counterbalanced by the bold Angostura, while the Creme Yvette provides a floral, berry bite.

Let me know how you like these if you try them out. I think they're perfect for a special occasion... (like, hmm, Mothers' Day perhaps? I think she's worth it!)

I love the tradition of May Day; there's something so charming about the idea of May poles, flowers galore, and surprise tokens of love left on doorsteps. That's perhaps why I love the Geronimo! Balloon Troopers so much. So for this May Day, I was inspired by that sentiment to put together a mini balloon and streamer DIY, and it makes for a pretty sweet surprise!

Materials

Directions

Wrap your wooden skewer with washi tape (I chose to go with neon, but pastels would be nice too!). Blow up your balloon and tape on to the non-pointy end of your skewer. Clear tape works better here than washi. To make your balloon stand upright, instead of flopping over, place an end of a piece of tape on the inflated body and affix the other end on the "stem" with enough tension to make it stand up. Add more tape over it to keep it secure. Helpful tip: place the skewer so that the blunt end presses a little bit into the balloon for extra stability. It took me a couple of minutes of fiddling to get it right, but once I got it the balloon remained upright with no flopping!

To make the gold tassel, simply roll up your 10 inches of gold valance and tape at the top, and then tape to your skewer (I placed it on top of the clear tape to camouflage the end of the balloon it a bit!). I trimmed my tassel to make it a little shorter (and now I have a little stash of gold trimmings which will make great confetti for something), but do whatever you like best! Tape your flowers on as well. You can prepare the skewer/balloon/tassel portion in advance and then add the flowers the morning of May Day. The great part about using washi tape is that it's easy to remove, so the blooms can be taken off and saved by the lucky recipient!

If you would like to include a tag, use a piece of card stock or construction paper; I like the double punched tag, so you can have a nice bow right on the front!

And there you go! Wouldn't it be nice to find this by your door? The best part is that you can stick these in a pot that's already on the porch, they're great to put in a succulent if you want to get gifty, and you can even put it straight into the lawn!

For the Bard's 450th birthday, I thought it only right to commemorate this moment when tiny Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. I have always been a great lover of Shakespeare, which probably stemmed from the fact that my parents met while working at a Shakespeare festival (my mom was the house manager and my dad an actor) and it therefore filtered into quite a bit of my childhood. Since this love sort of fell into my lap, I am always so intrigued by those, particularly of my generation, who have taken to Shakespeare on their own. In my brief college flirtation with a literature minor, I met a guy who had spent nearly 100 hours under the tattoo needle. All of his tattoos were inspired by Shakespeare; most prominent being the series of Hamlet quotes etched across his rib cage (which he showed me during class). It's remarkable that hundreds of years later, these plays remain compelling; but while it is indeed remarkable, it's not accidental.

There's a reason why Shakespeare continues to be performed, and is produced in period dress (costumes in the style that would have been seen in Shakespeare's England) and in modern dress (just about everything else). There's a reason why you can see Hamlet staged in an ancient Danish castle or in a modern complex outfitted with closed circuit security cameras; there's a reason you can see Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in a gang-infested beach town, or played out during the Mexican-American war. It's also more than just "universal themes": love, war, family, rivalry, etc. The continual popularity of Shakespeare, as far as I can see it, has much more to do with the uncompromising use of wit, the constant use of humor and debauchery, and the utter lack of preachiness. While there is still a lesson to impart, a moral of the story, it is not sermonizing or shaming, but instead brought about joyously, or wistfully, as the case requires. We are not spared the tragedy, but also treated to playful words (of which Shakespeare is estimated to have created about 1,700). One of the items on my bucket list is to see Shakespeare's Canon, which by most standards is considered to be the plays published in the First Folio. To help aid in this pursuit, I've put together a hand-lettered checklist; just in case you might like join me, I've included a download link!

I have seen 11 out of the 35, mostly at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (the one where my parents met). It is an amazing place to visit; Ashland is a wonderful small town, and the festival has an outdoor Elizabethan theater, with the addition of two indoor facilities. During the summer in New York, there is a troupe that puts on roving Shakespeare plays in Central Park, where you walk (or run, if you want a close "seat") to the next scene, directed by the actors. I saw Love's Labours Lost like that, and it was really fun. No matter where you are, many states have groups that put on Shakespeare plays; here is a great list of festivals.

Saturday is National Garlic Day (yes, there's an official website for the holiday), and since I'm a big lover of garlic (much to my boyfriend's distress) I had to make something to celebrate this illustrious day! I hazarded a look into aioli recipes, discovering that it is actually remarkably easy to make. Aioli is garlic mayo-type spread often seen on trendy burgers at trendy restaurants, but has a long tradition of being whipped up (literally). Not only is aioli great on burgers and sandwiches, it also makes a great dip for one of my all time fave foods, French fries. French fries are gluten free, dairy free, allergen free, all the FREE, and still delicious; which makes them basically the perfect creation for those with food intolerances (and really just all people everywhere). Baked "fries" are a little healthier and easier to make at home, and when you load them up with Romano cheese and rosemary, there's no denying they're pretty dang good.

The Fries

First off, start with some potatoes and an oven preheated to 450 degrees. Some nice Russets are great for making long skinny fries.

For this snack, I prepared one potato per person. Wash and scrub the skin to make sure it's clean (since I left the skins for baking). Using the point of the knife, remove eyes or dark spots. Quarter the potato and cut into desired size. Some recipes recommend that you give your fries an ice bath to prevent the outsides from getting tough while cooking; my potatoes weren't very starchy so I omitted that step and they turned out fine.

Once you've sliced up your potatoes, toss them in a light drizzle of oil. If they're too soggy they won't get very crispy, so start with a small amount and add more if you feel they aren't properly coated. I chose olive oil to complement the toppings and garlic aioli, but if you want a more neutral you could use canola. Lay your fries out flat on a wax paper covered baking tray (you could also coat the tray with a baking oil spray, but wax paper makes clean up a cinch). Place in the oven for 35 minutes; check before your timer is up to see how your fries are browning up. If some are already done you can remove them first, or you might want to rotate your pan since most ovens don't heat evenly.

Wash and remove the rosemary leaves from the woodier stem, and fine chop. Give some Romano cheese a fine grate; it has a creamier consistency than Parmesan, allowing it melt nicely on the warm fries.﻿

Once your fries are out of the oven and all are cooked, top them with your rosemary, cheese, and some salt.

Plate 'em up...

And boom! Delicious. But wait, it gets better. Let's get to the honoree of this National Garlic Day, the aioli. You can put this together while the fries are in the oven, and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

The Aioli

Aioli recipes have very little variation, but I found this one on Epicurious.

2 garlic cloves (this can vary depending on the size of your cloves. Mine were small and I just love garlic, so I used 3)

Mince and mash garlic using a large heavy knife or a mortar and pestle. Whisk together egg yolk, lemon juice, and mustard in a bowl. Combine oils and add a few drops at time to the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until all oil is incorporated and mixture is emulsified (ie, not separating). If the mixture separates, stop adding oil and until mixture comes together, then resume adding oil. Once totally mixed, add garlic and whisk. Season with salt and pepper. If your aioli comes out tasting too sour or lemony, it is easily fixed by adding a little more salt and some sugar, to taste. It will vary depending on the acidity of your lemon(s), but it is not recommended to reduce the amount since the recipe does include an egg yolk.

So, this weekend whip together a batch of fries and some aioli for dunking to impress your friends. They'll think you're quite the gourmet (and if you don't tell them how easy it was, I won't!). A note for any readers with fructose malabsorption/on the FODMAP diet, garlic can be problematic for some. I find that I tolerate it well, but if you're avoiding it, try making your own mayo to go with fries instead. While it may sound odd, homemade mayo is nothing like the your usual Best Foods variety and is remarkably tasty. In Europe, fries are commonly served this way, which initially I found appalling but grew to love.

With Easter coming up this weekend, I was in the mood to start a little decorating; especially since I'm now in my own place, with very limited holiday decor to my name! I've always been enamored with 'Best in Show' style ribbons, so I let that look inspire me for a little garland. Not only do the medallions make great banners, but are also nice to be hung as singles or used as a special gift tag.

Materials

Images for the front of the medallion (I made eggs from art history text book scans, a little calligraphy, and doodled some chevrons!)

Step 1: Folding

Fold each strip accordion style (like those fans you used to make as a kid) down the length; the folds should be about a 1/2 inch with nice crisp edges.

Step 2: Taping

Each piece of folded paper is going to be a quarter of your medallion. To help make taping easier, "train" each piece by making it form a little pie sliced shape by squeezing together one end and spreading out the other. Then, flip it over to the wrong (blank) side. Gather and tape a few folds together to create 3 sections (they don't need to be exactly even!). Once you have completed this on all 4 sections, tape each section together. Make sure your outside edges line up so you have a perfect circle. Sometimes the section will end with the outside edge of the paper, or with a crease, it doesn't matter either way. Adding tape at the top, middle, and bottom will keep it from gaping and allow it to look uniform.

Step 3: Forming the Medallion

Once you have all 4 sections connected, it's time to make the full circle. Carefully bring the two edges around to meet each other and tape the outer edges. The medallion will not want to lay flat which can make it harder to tape, but just make sure your edges line up. Tape together the bottom and middle as well. Once taped, flip it over and make sure your creases are folded properly and smooth out any wrinkles.

Step 4: Stabilizing

To keep your medallion from wanting to fold up like a lampshade, glue a piece of cardstock or brown paper from a grocery bag to the back. Stack your medallions between magazines to dry, about an hour to two. If you use hot glue, it won't take as long to dry, but can sometimes be bumpy.

Step 5: Ribbons

Cut a two foot length of ribbon and trim the ends to your desired look. Fold your ribbon in half. Hold your ribbon so that the correct sides are facing towards you. If you're using something like grosgrain or double-sided satin, both sides with be correct! Using both hands, bring one side of your ribbon under the other to create a little triangle point at the top. Folding this way allows the ribbon to be flat, while having the correct sides of your ribbon facing up on both lengths. Hot glue your ribbons onto your properly dried medallions. I found it easiest to add a dot of glue in between the folds at the top of my ribbon to keep it stabilized. Affix the image you've picked as the front of your medallion on top of the ribbon. If you're using craft glue, once again allow the medallion to dry between magazines.

Step 6: Hole Punch

Carefully punch a hole through your stabilizing backing. Make sure it's at the top, so it will hang properly.

Ta-da! You have a lovely medallion! I used an image of the Ghent altarpiece for this one (plus, pineapples!). Now you're ready to string them together for a banner, or tie them on to Easter baskets!

Here it is hanging up over my mom's mantle, though it has found permanent residence (well, through the holiday), above my bed in the Little Den, paired with my DIY tassel garland. Hopefully I'll be able to post a shot of it to my Instagram sometime this week! I really love the look of these, and I think it would be fun to make a few to keep up all year round (not to mention they would be great for my favorite holiday, 4th of July)!

Hope everyone has a colorful and medallion-bedecked week ahead!Warmly, Rachel

Today is a very special day, and that special day is National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day. I KNOW. Try to contain your excitement for just a minute here though. While eating a PB&J to celebrate is all well and good, as the great Julia Child once said, "A party without cake is just a meeting." I've found it best to follow the wisdom of Julia, so here's a cake update on the classic sandwich!

This is a lovely little dessert that comes together easily and will impress your friends and fam. My proportions are sized to make a cake for two, so scale up if serving for a larger crowd! Here's how you put together each of the components:

Part 1: Balsamic Strawberries

These are a classic treat in my house when a box of strawberries is just not quite sweet enough to eat alone. The addition of the balsamic gives them a tartness that pairs well with the sweetness of the caramel sauce and ricotta cake.

Slice up about 8 medium sized strawberries (you can always add more if you want!)

Put your sliced strawberries, balsamic vinegar, and sugar in a bowl and stir until all of the berries are coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. It's best if you take them out and stir them up again before your hour is up.

Part 2: Ricotta Cake

I used this recipe for the Ricotta cake, halfing the amount so that it would fill a large ramekin and make a nice sized cake for two (you could always split it up into two ramekins as well, but you'll have to shorten the bake time!).

1/2 cup fresh ricotta

1 egg, seperated

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tablespoon flour (I used a gluten free baking mix and it worked great)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter your ramekin. Mix together the ricotta and egg yolk until smooth, and then add vanilla, flour, and all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar. In another bowl, beat your egg white. You can use a hand mixer, but I used one of these old-school egg beaters and it worked just fine. Slowly add in the remaining one tablespoon of sugar, until stiff peaks form. Gently fold your egg whites into the ricotta mixture, being careful to keep the fluffiness of the egg whites while having them fully incorporated. Pour batter into your ramekin and bake for about 30 minutes. The middle should be fairly firm and not jiggle too much when shaken. When it's ready, let it cool in the dish while you prepare your caramel sauce. The cake will fall a little bit while cooling.

Part 3: Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce

I used The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook recipe as the base for this recipe, but made it peanut-buttery. Caramel can be tricky, but this recipe works well. These proportions will make more than needed for a two person cake, but it can be difficult to produce in small batches. I recommend just going whole hog. I mean, how sad are you really going to be if you have some extra in the fridge? (BTW, it's awesome warmed up on ice cream. Or on a spoon, straight out of the container.)

Pour water into a medium heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add the sugar to the middle of the pan, making sure you don't get any granules on the pan above the water line (this could lead to crystallization later). Cover the pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, uncover the pan and continue to boil until the liquid turns a straw color. Once that happens, turn down the heat to a nice medium. You're waiting for the liquid to turn a deep amber; while you're watching for that, in another pot simmer your heavy cream. If the cream simmers before your sugar turns amber, cover the cream and pull it off the heat. Once you achieve that dark amber color, pull your sugar mixture off the heat. Pour about a quarter of your warm cream into the mixture, and wait for a bit of the bubbles to subside. Then add the remaining cream and whisk (note this is the first time you are whisking or stirring! If you do that before this step, you are likely to mess up your caramel!). Add in your peanut butter, and whisk until creamy.

If something goes wrong the first time you do it and your caramel goes to hard ball stage (becomes a hard, sugar candy mess) or burns, don't be discouraged. I messed up two batches trying a different recipe, and very nearly ruined a third. While many recipes give you temperatures and times to watch for, I found that the best indicator was color. Also, the addition of the peanut butter gives you some flexibility; if you're caramel goes a bit long, it will give the sauce a toasty peanut-brittle-y sort of taste (which I actually loved). Oh, and here's a picture of one of my bad batches (LOL! This one had you stirring though the whole process... obviously doesn't work!)

Now you're ready! Pop your cooled ricotta cake out of the ramekin and top it with your warm caramel sauce and your juicy berries!

I absolutely love this ricotta cake recipe; it's creamy and pudding-like, while still having the substance of a cake. It's a great not-to-sweet neutral that makes it really versatile. I'm already brainstorming what else to top it with... lemon curd and blueberries? Berries and cream? But, I'll probably just make more peanut butter caramel sauce, because it's just that good. Note: this is absolutely in no way, shape, or form adhering to the FODMAP diet, so tread lightly my food intolerance friends!

Happy PB & J Day everyone! Hope it's a good one! XO, Rachel

P.S: If you need a pick-me-up (and the idea of peanut butter caramel didn't do the trick), watch this Lindy Hop competition dance video. I'm obsessed; I just sit and smile when I watch it (which I've done more than once in the past 12 hours). New hobby? I'm thinking so.